If everything goes as planned, Cincinnati’s streetcar system connecting the University of Cincinnati to Over-the-Rhine and the downtown riverfront will carry its first passengers on Reds Opening Day in 2013 — about 25 months from now. That’s the unofficial target date for the system’s opening, according to City Hall sources. But readers can safely bet that between now and then there will be plenty of overheated and inaccurate rhetoric designed to confuse citizens and block the project.

We're not sure if Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters pays The Enquirer to handle his public relations, but he should. In a stunning example of Deters spinning his previous statements and the newspaper ignoring its previous article on the topic, The Enquirer reported Feb. 2 that Deters was angry and upset about a contract approved by county commissioners for use of an outside law firm.

How a person reacts in adversity reveals a lot about his or her character. In a move reminiscent of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding announced last week that he was resigning soon, despite having another year left on his term. As the reason for his departure, Berding said he needed to focus on his day job as sales and marketing director for the Cincinnati Bengals. Berding’s given reason probably is true, but it’s only part of the story.

Right now, as you leisurely read this issue of CityBeat, your taxpayer dollars are being used to illegally abuse a U.S. citizen who hasn’t been convicted of a crime. The citizen in question is Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who was charged last summer with the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. Manning is the alleged source who gave confidential military documents and more than 251,000 secret diplomatic messages from U.S. embassies worldwide to WikiLeaks, the controversial whistle-blowing Web site.

When I was first told by a friend Sunday morning that former Cincinnati City Councilman and Vice Mayor David Crowley had passed away at age 73, I was taken aback by how much the news affected me. After all, I knew that his prostate cancer, which he successfully battled in 2005, had returned last year and he had begun chemotherapy. But I soon realized that David was one of those rare people I admired both professionally and personally.

It’s well known that the Enquirer has been timid about calling out businesses on possible misconduct or shady dealings ever since the newspaper paid $14 million to Chiquita in 1998, when the produce giant threatened to sue following the publication of a damning special section on its alleged practices in Central and South America. In the years since, the Enquirer’s business coverage has been tepid, and some reporters have alleged they were told to not pursue certain stories after advertisers complained to the publisher.

Last week's extended soap opera at City Hall about how to fill a $54.7 million deficit in the budget ended anti-climatically, with differing City Council factions temporarily solving the dilemma by resorting to the same sort of tricks they did last year — instead of showing leadership or political courage, the mayor and nine elected council members decided to use $27 million in one-time sources of cash to patch over the immediate problem and approve studies into possible changes that could yield the rest of the savings.

Although its origins are clouded in mystery, there is an oft-quoted, allegedly Chinese proverb that states, “May you live in interesting times.” In reality, many historians believe the phrase is a bastardization of an ancient Chinese curse that goes, “It's better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in a chaotic period.”

By the time this column is published, City Council likely will have passed a budget for the 2011-12 period after much hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing. Members are scheduled to approve some sort of spending plan late during the day in which I'm writing this, Dec. 21. Of course, as of mid-day, residents still have no idea which city services will be reduced or eliminated.

Anyone familiar with the political career of Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding probably isn't too surprised that some local groups are accusing him of being “two-faced” and reneging on a promise he allegedly made behind closed doors. The groups say Berding told Cincinnati's police union that he would only support the city's proposed streetcar system if it was fully funded by federal grants.

Here's a newsflash for Tea Partiers: You've been played like a fiddle by your so-called friends in the Republican Party. And don't start scoffing, progressives. Your chosen presidential candidate who now sits in the Oval Office has reneged on yet another of the few rock-solid pledges he made during his campaign two years ago.

WikiLeaks recently obtained more than 251,000 secret diplomatic messages from U.S. embassies worldwide. In what's been dubbed "the Sept. 11 of world diplomacy," the latest leaked documents show the candid, private and unflattering assessments of world leaders by U.S. officials and the pressure tactics they use behind-the-scenes to achieve their goals. Tea Party queen Sarah Palin says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be "pursued with the same urgency we pursue Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders" and detained or assassinated.

People like Phil Burress must live in an alternate reality, full of strange fears and repressed desires, while ignoring the true dangers all around them like soaring unemployment, families that struggle to put food on the table and politicians beholden to corporate interests. Burress, who is president of the anti-gay, anti-pornography, anti-anything-different Citizens for Community Values (CCV), spent the election season trying to convince voters in Bowling Green, Ohio, to repeal the city's two human rights ordinances. His big fear? Men in dresses.

If you own a home in Cincinnati, and maybe even if you rent, you're probably going to be paying more next year because city officials lack the political will to stand up to the local police union. Or the firefighters union. Or municipal retirees.

Although they might not want to admit it, I'm betting many people reading this issue of CityBeat have something in common with Bristol Palin. The 20-year-old daughter of erstwhile Tea Party leader and half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was too busy learning routines for ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars' and forgot to vote in last week's midterm elections.